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Tips for Strategic Business Planning in a Competitive Environment | Staffing Agencies in Jackson MS

Posted December 28th, 2012

For most companies, the following two questions are nothing new:

Are the conditions in your industry competitive right now?

How much control does your company have over that competitive environment?

When it comes to strategic business planning, the approaches used in a predictable industry are nothing like what works in a volatile environment. Research indicates that this is true, with companies all over the globe. Yet, one thing that is evident is that many companies are employing strategies that are only suited for predictable industries.

If you underestimate your vulnerability or your company’s ability to manage these tough situations, you would be very much like many of today’s most prominent industries. It is not possible to choose strategies, though, if you do not perceive the situation correctly. This tends to be a problem in many aspects of business, including in staffing and growth potential.

What to Do in a Volatile Market

It is best to devise strategies that handle all situations. That means thinking about both malleable and predictable conditions in different ways.

Consider strategies suited to predictable environments.

Select strategies geared towards predictable environments where you have no influence.

Consider the different strategies for unpredictable environments you cannot control.

Select strategies for unpredictable environments you can take advantage of.

There are four strategic environments present. That means you need four different styles of strategies to execute properly in these situations. Those companies operating in predictable and immutable environments use a classic strategy, the one you learned years ago in business school. That works well. However, when immutable situations become unpredictable, you need strategies that are experimental and adaptive to the situation.

On the flip side, in predictable environments, it is possible for you to take full advance of visionary strategies. In environments where the conditions are unpredictable, it is best to have some power of control in this situation. A temporary staffing model, for example, can help your business weather the ups and downs in your industry and the market—giving you greater control over staffing costs.

Why change things up rather than follow the strategies you’ve used for decades?

The fact is, in companies that match their planning strategy to the environment, it is clearly beneficial. In some cases, this can improve shareholder return significantly. The problem is that many companies do not do this. They do not put enough time into developing effective strategies for all types of circumstances. They are left, then, trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Improving consistencies here could mean a much higher return later.